U.S. imposes visa restrictions on Russians in Ukraine crisis

WASHINGTON -- The U.S. government will ban Russian officials and others involved in "threatening the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine" from receiving U.S. visas, the White House announced Thursday.

The move, which adds to existing visa restrictions on people involved in human rights abuses in Ukraine, marks a further escalation of U.S. pressure on Russia over the crisis in Ukraine, where Russian gunmen have seized control of the strategic Crimean peninsula.

In a statement, the White House said President Obama had signed an executive order that allows the government to impose sanctions on individuals and groups responsible for "undermining democratic processes or institutions in Ukraine; threatening the peace, security, stability, sovereignty, or territorial integrity of Ukraine; contributing to the misappropriation of state assets of Ukraine."

The sanctions also apply to those who have asserted "governmental authority" over any part of Ukraine without approval from the new government in Kiev, the White House said.

In statements issued Thursday, the administration did not name individuals or groups affected by the new penalties. But officials have repeatedly said they intend to ramp up pressure on people close to Russian President Vladimir Putin, who the U.S. accuses of breaking international law by sending troops into the Crimean peninsula, a region in southern Ukraine that has a Russian-speaking majority.

The White House statement repeated the U.S. call on Russia “to take the opportunity before it to resolve this crisis through direct and immediate dialogue” with the government in Kiev along with “the immediate pull-back of Russia’s military forces to their bases, the restoration of Ukraine’s territorial integrity, and support for the urgent deployment of international observers and human rights monitors who can assure that the rights of all Ukrainians are protected, including ethnic Russians.”

Ukraine's worst unrest since the 1991 collapse of the Soviet Union was sparked by ousted President Viktor Yanukovich's decision to scrap a deal with the European Union in favor of closer ties with Russia.

Russian President Vladimir Putin said Wednesday that he had pulled back troops from the border with Ukraine and called on Kremlin-allied separatists to delay a referendum on whether Ukraine's regions should have a greater degree of autonomy.

At least 14 people were killed and scores were wounded as government forces seeking to win back this eastern Ukrainian city from pro-Russia separatists ran into an ambush Monday set up by the rebel gunmen.

A crowd of more than 2,000 pro-Russia separatists on Sunday night seized one of the last key official sites in the eastern Ukraine city of Donetsk still in the hands of the country’s interim government.